september adventure: Watmough Bay, Lopez Island
Date: September 11, 2020
Time Start: Noon
Time Finish: 5 p.m.
Cruise From: Langley, Whidbey Island
Cruise To: Watmough Bay, Lopez Island
Engine Hours Start: 1217
Engine Hours Finish: 1222
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, smoke haze
The fire situation has become very serious up and down the west coast. Fires are enormous in California, and forests are also burning in Oregon and Washington. The air is filled with haze from the drifting smoke this morning, and we need to decide whether we should cancel our cruise to the San Juans, stay put here in Langley, or head back home. We opt to continue, with the hopes that the smoke will be less as we continue north and even disperse in the next few days as ocean air moves in.
Here are the views as we leave Langley, making our way along Whidbey and Camano Islands on our way to Skagit Bay. Water is calm today, except for some north winds in Skagit Bay creating waves that splash our windows:
Time Start: Noon
Time Finish: 5 p.m.
Cruise From: Langley, Whidbey Island
Cruise To: Watmough Bay, Lopez Island
Engine Hours Start: 1217
Engine Hours Finish: 1222
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, smoke haze
The fire situation has become very serious up and down the west coast. Fires are enormous in California, and forests are also burning in Oregon and Washington. The air is filled with haze from the drifting smoke this morning, and we need to decide whether we should cancel our cruise to the San Juans, stay put here in Langley, or head back home. We opt to continue, with the hopes that the smoke will be less as we continue north and even disperse in the next few days as ocean air moves in.
Here are the views as we leave Langley, making our way along Whidbey and Camano Islands on our way to Skagit Bay. Water is calm today, except for some north winds in Skagit Bay creating waves that splash our windows:
We plan to transit Deception Pass at slack tide, around 5 p.m. The captain decides to go through a little early, riding a three knot current two hours ahead of slack with no problems. It isn't very scenic today, the skies a constant reminder of the devastation taking place elsewhere.
We follow the subdued path of the sun into Watmough Bay and set our anchor. We are in what normally is a spectacular setting, one of our favorite anchorages in the San Juan Islands. The sun isn't warm, but there is enough brightness for us to partially charge batteries on a few solar items before it disappears behind the high cliff facing the bay.
Our daughter likes to know where we are when we are boating. She gave us a gadget, a Garmin InReach, that allows her to follow us by satellite in real time. This is what she sees! (Click for vertical photos.)
It looks like the captain is our chef tonight! Hmmm, is this his specialty???
Date: September 12, 2020
Watmough Bay layover day
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, gray, dreary day with haze and smoke. Mid 50's.
Well, it doesn't matter where you are today, the entire west coast is buried in deep smoke, with some places measuring the unhealthiest air on the planet! Fires extend from California to Washington. Visibility is poor, and we hang low. It is a cabin day on NORTH STAR, complete with some cabin fever. First time for that ever on our boat! Where is the horizon???
Watmough Bay layover day
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, gray, dreary day with haze and smoke. Mid 50's.
Well, it doesn't matter where you are today, the entire west coast is buried in deep smoke, with some places measuring the unhealthiest air on the planet! Fires extend from California to Washington. Visibility is poor, and we hang low. It is a cabin day on NORTH STAR, complete with some cabin fever. First time for that ever on our boat! Where is the horizon???
Date: September 13, 2020
Watmough Bay layover day
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, hazy day. Mid 50's.
Good morning! What's it like today? Well . . . seems to be a bit hazy again. But look! There is the shore!
Watmough Bay layover day
Weather/sea conditions: Calm, hazy day. Mid 50's.
Good morning! What's it like today? Well . . . seems to be a bit hazy again. But look! There is the shore!
It's decided, we need to get off the boat. The Torqueedo electric motor gets installed on the dinghy, and off we go. At first we head out of the bay to Boulder Island, a seven acre wildlife reserve belonging to Fish and Game. And we are mesmerized! We fall into one of those zones of peace and awe as we drift over beds of kelp in the most serene of settings. The water is so calm, the absence of sunlight and the haze creating unworldly conditions. We float and drift and get lost in the wonder of it all. And our cameras (phones) are clicking away.
And now our focus turns to Boulder Island, more beautiful than you could ever imagine when only viewed from afar. Of course, the surrounding water and the kelp are part of the next set of photos, too. We are awestruck by what we are seeing! There is so much color in this gray world!
Now we cross Watmough Bay to the north side where there is a high rock face to do more exploring. Once again the colors from lichens growing on the rocks are stunning. The base of the cliffs almost look like they have white painted toes from all of the barnacles and other shells.
The water is clear enough for us to see the life growing beneath the surface along the rock faces.
We've experienced Watmough Bay in a way we never could have dreamed of today. We completely enjoyed ourselves, taking way too many photos, but the scenery was irresistible. We can only imagine what a field day anyone into photography would have here. Now the day is ending, the sun finally making an appearance at 5:45 p.m. as it moves through the smokey skies toward the horizon, and we are thrilled to have found a silver lining on our visit here. For us it is a five star day! No cabin fever today! And before our day ends, we are able to listen to the first concert of the season of the Seattle Symphony, a performance put together through the wonders of technology during the pandemic. Nestled in the warm cabin of our Ranger Tug with our colorful solar lanterns lit and the music playing, we're more than content.